Aug. 9, 2007

The Duquesne football team, under the guidance of third-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, opened fall camp today in preparation for the season opener versus Bucknell on Sept. 1.

The 2007 season marks the end of an era for the Duquesne football program, as the Dukes embark on their final campaign as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League. Last January, the DU administration renewed its commitment to the program by accepting an associate membership in the Northeast Conference Football League starting in 2008. With the move, Duquesne will grant 18 scholarships beginning in February of 2008 and will increase that number by two for the ensuing three years. Duquesne granted only need-based financial aid for football playing student-athletes as a member of the MAAC.

Third-year head coach Jerry Schmitt, the two-time MAAC Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year will be looking to extend DU's streak of league titles to nine in the Dukes' MAAC swan song.

Schmitt, who guided the Dukes to a 7-3-0 mark in 2006, welcomes back 18 starters from last year's team (9 offensive and 7 defensive in addition to the starting punter and placekicker) which finished the season ranked No. 6 in The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major Top 10.

Duquesne, which has the second-best winning percentage of all FCS schools this decade (.773 trails only Montana's .808), will be looking to put together its 14th consecutive winning season.

Among the priorities for Schmitt and the 2007 Dukes is the retooling of a Duquesne defensive backfield which lost three veteran starters from a unit that ranked No. 19 in total defense, 11th in scoring defense, 13th in pass defense, and 11th in pass efficiency defense in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Gone are three of the four first team All-MAAC performers from last year in three-year starter cornerback Kyle Postell, three-year starter safety Todd Mills, and MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and yet another three-year starter safety Michael Hill. In addition, Schmitt must find a replacement for starting defensive end Ryan Esdale who was second on the team last year with 5.0 sacks.

Returning are seven first and second team All-MAAC performers from last year, including all three linebackers in first-teamers John Simmons (Pittsburgh, Pa./Plum) and Greg Hough (Gibosnia, Pa./Pine-Richland), and second-teamer Eric Halberstadt (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn). Simmons and Hough tied for second last season with 53 tackles each. The pair also added 2.5 sacks apiece. Simmons is a two-year starter while Hough, who returned an interception a school-record 98 yards for a touchdown last season, just completed his first year at linebacker after playing fullback in 2005.

The linebacking corps will be bolstered by the arrival of Derron Thomas (Forestville, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) a graduate student transfer from Pitt. The 6-1, 235-pound Thomas was good enough to start nine times and finish fourth on the team in total tackles as a sophomore for the Panthers in 2005. A former first team All-Maryland pick in high school, Thomas is expected have major impact on the Dukes' defense.

Also returning is first team All-MAAC defensive end Travis Decker (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) who will be joined by second-teamers Ronnie Garvin (Aiken, S.C./Aiken), and Mykol Gardiner (Cleveland, Oh./Benedictine) along the defensive line. Decker, an honorable mention Don Hansen FCS All-American last season, led the Duquesne in both sacks (8.0) and tackles for loss (12.0) despite not moving into the starting lineup until game four. Garvin and Gardiner combined to win three MAAC Rookie of the Week honors last season as redshirt freshmen (two for Gardiner and one for Garvin). Garvin tied for the lead with two fumble recoveries, while Gardiner was second on the team with 6.5 sacks.

Cornerback Aaron Strader (Pittsburgh, Pa./Westinghouse), the 2005 MAAC Defensive Rookie of the Year and first team all-league pick last season, will anchor the new-look secondary. Strader tied for the team lead in interceptions last year with three including a 96-yard return for a score at Robert Morris.

Senior Paul Mulbah (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt), a perennial special teams standout who has seen action in 30 games in his first three seasons, is expected to inherit the other cornerback spot. Sophomores Randall Norton (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh) and John Guthrie (Bethel Park, Pa./Seton-La Salle) saw the majority of playing time at the two open safety spots in the spring.

Offensively, the Dukes will be led by consensus All-American Bruce Hocker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt) who caught 61 passes for 1,070 yards and a school record-tying 16 touchdowns last season. Hocker, a 6-4, 205-pound senior who has caused NFL scouts to become regular visitors to DU games and practices, led the nation in receiving yards per game (107.0) and touchdown receptions in 2006. His 17.8 career yards per reception average is the best among all returning receivers in the FCS.

Getting Hocker the ball will be junior quarterback Scott Knapp (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry Traditional Academy) who finished last year with the second-most passing yards in school history (2,853). His 209 completions and .595 completion percentage, (209-351) broke the previous school records set by his position coach, former standout Niel Loebig (2001-04). Knapp's 28 touchdown passes, 16 to Hocker alone, were good enough to tie for second-most on DU's all-time list. Both Knapp and Hocker were named First Team All-MAAC.

Last year DU had to start from scratch with a roster that did not contain a single player who had started a game on the offensive line. This year the Dukes return all five starters in senior center Matt Stansfield (Meadville, Pa./Meadville), senior guard Hatim Chafi (Rockville, Md./ Richard Montgomery), junior tackle J.T. Stefanik (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands), and second-year sophomores, guard Steve Kuhns (Lafayette, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) and tackle Matt Kikta (Upper St. Clair, Pa./Upper St. Clair).

Stansfield was named first team All-MAAC and Stefanik and Kuhns were named to the second team in their first season as starters.

DU must find a replacement for departing first team All-MAAC wide receiver Dan Spriggs. Spriggs, a master at making the clutch catch, accounted for 61 receptions and 778 yards in `06. Waiting in the wings is sophomore Conrad Carter (Clinton, Md./Archbishop Carroll) who had 19 catches for 341 yards and three touchdowns. DU is also hoping for the return of 6-3 junior Alex Roberson (Waynesboro Ga./Curtis Baptist Upper School) who went down last year in the opener at Bucknell with a season-ending knee injury. Before the injury Roberson had career totals of 55 catches for 817 yards and seven touchdowns.

Calvin Gitter (Jamison, Pa./Central Bucks East), a first team All-MAAC tight end in both 2005 & 2006, is also back.

DU must also find a replacement for the running back tandem of Jeremy McCullough and James Jacobs who accounted for 85 percent of the team's rushing yardage over the past three seasons. Looking to fill the void will be Dennis Void (Bronx, N.Y. Mt. St. Michael Academy/Chabot CC). The 6-1, 205-pound Void gained 170 yards on 49 carries and one touchdown in an injury-shortened season.

The kicking game looks to be solid with second team All-MAAC junior punter David Kovalcik (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly) and sophomore placekicker Mark Troyan (Ford City, Pa./Ford City) both back.

Duquesne, which has won 10 of the past 12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Football League titles - including the last eight in a row - has won 40 of its past 41 conference games.

The Dukes will once again face one of the toughest non-conference schedules of any FCS Mid-Major. Duquesne will open the season at home vs. Bucknell (Patriot League) before hitting the road to face Brown (Ivy League) and Sacred Heart (NEC). Division III Frostburg State will be the Dukes' homecoming opponent on Sept. 29.

DU will also travel to Saint Francis, Pa. (NEC), host cross-town rival Robert Morris and conclude the season at Monmouth (NEC) in non-league action. In MAAC play, the Dukes will host La Salle and travel to Marist and Iona.

Dukes at a Glanceclass listed is for 2007 season
Starters Returning/Lost:  16/6Specialists Returning/Lost:  2/0All-MAAC Returning/Lost:  #13/6# - totals include first and second team picks
Offense (starters returning/lost)         9/2J.T. Stefanik (+), Jr., 6-5, 270          Left TackleSteve Kuhns (+), So., 6-3, 315            Left GuardMatt Stansfield (*), Sr., 6-1, 255        CenterHatim Chafi, Sr., 6-4, 305                Right GuardMatt Kikta, So., 6-4, 280                 Right TackleCalvin Gitter (*), Sr., 6-2, 245          Tight EndBruce Hocker (*), Sr., 6-4, 205           Split EndJoe D'orsie, So., 6-0, 250                Full BackScott Knapp (*), Jr., 6-3, 230            QuarterbackFlanker Alex Roberson (Jr., 6-3, 200), a seven-time starter in 2005,will also be back after missing last season with a knee injury
Defense (starters returning/lost)         7/4Travis Decker (+), Sr., 6-2, 225          Defensive EndRonnie Garvin (+), So., 6-0, 295          Defensive TackleMykol Gardiner (+), So., 6-3, 255         Defensive EndJohn Simmons (*), Sr., 6-1, 215           Outside LinebackerGreg Hough (*), Jr., 6-1, 220             Outside LinebackerEric Halberstadt (+), Jr., 5-10, 220      Middle LinebackerAaron Strader (*), Jr., 6-3, 190          Cornerback
Specialists (starters returning/lost)     2/0Mark Troyan, Jr. 5-9, 195                 KickerDavid Kovalcik (+), Sr., 5-10, 185        Punter*  - 2006 first team All-MAAC;     + - 2006 second team All-MAAC

A Winning Tradition - Eight-Straight MAAC ChampionshipsDuquesne ranks third among all NCAA schools on the current listof consecutive titles won.
Current Most Consecutive League TitlesAll NCAA Divisions (FBS, FCS, II & III) - through the 2006 season
No.  School         Conference (Division)                Year15   Mount Union    Ohio Athletic Conference (D-III)     1992- 9   Montana        Big Sky Conference (FCS)             1998- 8   Duquesne       Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf. (FCS)  1999-
13 Winning Seasons in a Row
Duquesne University, which began competing at the NCAA FootballChampionship Subdivision level in 1993, clinched its 13th consecutivewinning season with its win over Marist on Oct. 21 of last season.Only two other FCS schools have had more consecutive plus-.500seasons (entering 2007):
NCAA FCS Most Consecutive Winning Seasons - current
Eastern Kentucky    Ohio Valley                 29Montana             Big Sky                     21DUQUESNE            Metro Atlantic Athletic     13
Best of the DecadeFCS Top Winning Percentages in the 2000s
Duquesne enters the 2007 season tied with Dayton for the second-best winning percentage of all NCAA FCS schools in the decade of the 2000s:
Team               W/L     Pct.Montana            80-19  .808DUQUESNE           58-17  .773Dayton             58-17  .773Coastal Carolina   34-11  .756Lehigh             62-20  .756